Compelling evidence suggests that alteration of normal prenatal development influences one's lifetime risks for obesity and cardiovascular disorders, which are components of the metabolic syndrome. Reflecting the public health importance of elucidating risk factors for obesity and cardiovascular disease, the metabolic syndrome affects nearly 50 million Americans. Thus, efforts aimed at elucidating the risk factors for adult disease, including those that contribute to a small element of causation, are of major public health and economic importance. The goals of this proposal are to identify the mechanisms by which adenosine acts to protect the embryo in utero and how altered embryonic adenosine action leads to long-term adverse effects in adulthood.